Liu, M;
Lin, M;
Turvey, ST;
Li, S;
(2017)
Fishers’ knowledge as an information source to investigate by-catch of marine mammals in the South China Sea.
Animal Conservation
, 20
(2)
pp. 182-192.
10.1111/acv.12304.
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Abstract
Bycatch mortality is a significant driver of marine mammal population declines. However, there is little information available on patterns or magnitude of bycatch mortality in many heavily fished Asian marine systems such as the South China Sea (SCS). To address this limited knowledge base, we conducted interviews with fishers to gather local ecological knowledge on marine mammal bycatch around Hainan Island, China. Gillnets were the primary fishing gear used in local fisheries, and were also responsible for the majority of reported marine mammal bycatch events in recent decades. Bycatch events were reported from all seasons but were most frequent in spring (38.4%), which might relate to seasonal variation in fishing activities. The spatial pattern of relative bycatch densities for Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, Indo-Pacific finless porpoises and unidentified small dolphins varied around Hainan and neighbouring waters. A substantial proportion of informants (36.1 and 9.2% respectively) reported that they have eaten or sold marine mammal meat, demonstrating the continued existence of cultural practices of consuming marine mammals on Hainan. Responses of fishers to bycatch events were dependent both on their existing attitudes and perceptions towards marine mammals and on other sociocultural factors. Almost half of informants agreed that marine mammal populations in the SCS have decreased. Declines were thought by informants to have been caused by overfishing, water pollution and vessel collisions, with bycatch responsible for further declines in dolphins.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Fishers’ knowledge as an information source to investigate by-catch of marine mammals in the South China Sea |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1111/acv.12304 |
| Publisher version: | http://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12304 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2016 The Zoological Society of London. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Liu, M; Lin, M; Turvey, ST; Li, S; (2016) Fishers’ knowledge as an information source to investigate by-catch of marine mammals in the South China Sea. Animal Conservation 10.1111/acv.12304, which has been published in final form at http://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12304. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. |
| Keywords: | Bycatch mortality; local ecological knowledge; questionnaire-based interviews; marine mammal conservation; dolphins; fisheries; South China Sea |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1508201 |
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